Onward Blog

I see my path from prison to college and then to academia as a series of ordinary events that led to an extraordinary outcome.

By Chris Beasley, #LwC2019

November 8, 2019

Chris Beasley has a Ph.D in Community Psychology from DePaul University, an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Roosevelt University.

Everybody should have the opportunity to thrive in life.

By Marlon Chamberlain, #LwC2019

Marlon Chamberlain is the recipient of the Purdy Award from the Community Renewal Society.

If I don’t do it, then who’s going to do it?

By LaShanna Tyson, #LwC2019

I founded Empowering Kids With Incarcerated Parents (EKWIP), a non-profit organization affiliated with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Orlando.

My mom’s incarceration put me on a trajectory for the last nine years that I honestly would never have imagined.

By Laurin Leonard (Hodge), #LwC2019

Laurin Leonard (Hodge) is an Echoing Green Fellow, a Cordes Fellow, an Ashoka and Aspen Institute Emerging Nonprofit Leader.

I advocate a four pillar approach to recovery from substance use disorder and reentry from incarceration.

By William Sansing, #LwC2019

November 1, 2019

I am the Associate Dean of Instruction and District Director of Student Counseling & Advising Services.

Mentorship is one of those recurring themes throughout my story.

By Jason Clark, #LwC2019

October 26, 2019

I am the Equity and Justice Advocate for the King County Superior Court’s Juvenile Court Services Department in Seattle, WA.

We have to seize the moment and make as many changes and be as impactful as we can.

By Eric Weaver, #LwC2019

October 22, 2019

I am the Founder and Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Returning Citizens and Deputy Director of the READY Center.

I want to teach justice-involved people how to navigate the system of higher education, not to survive, but to thrive.

By Danny Murillo, #LwC2019

October 15, 2019

Danny Murillo received the Rockwood Leadership Institute’s 2017 Returning Citizens Fellowship.

When your eyes come open to the truth, there is no turning around.

By Anthony Witherspoon, #LwC2019

October 8, 2019

Anthony Witherspoon has a Ph.D. Higher Education Administration from Jackson State University.

Walk with me as a ‘possible’ and step away from the ‘probable.’

By Saad Soliman, #LwC2019

September 30, 2019

I am the founding Executive Director of the Peers Mentoring Center and Peace By Piece Inc. in Wilmington, Delaware. 

My job is to put a new face on reentry.

By Tracey Syphax, #LwC2019

Tracey Syphax He is a board member of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.

From that moment I saw that I had a unique opportunity…

By Guy Hamilton Smith, #LwC2019

September 15, 2019

Guy Padraic Hamilton-Smith is a member of the Law & Society Association’s division on Punishment & Society.

How do we reimagine how we treat our young people and make our juvenile justice system healing and transformative?

By Keturah Herron, #LwC2019

Keturah Herron is a graduate of the University of Louisville and holds a Masters in Juvenile Justice from Eastern Kentucky University.

I don’t think luck should have any role in whether or not people in prison have access to education.

By Dirk Van Velzen, #LwC2019

August 31, 2019

Dirk Van Velzen graduated from the Nonprofit Management program at the University of Washington.

We’re taking criminal justice reform to a whole new level!

By Kemba Smith Pradia, #LwC2019 Fellow

August 16, 2019

Kemba Smith Pradia is a graduate of Virginia Union University and was the recipient of a two year Soros Justice Postgraduate Fellowship.

From that moment on, I just knew that advocacy and policy were going to be the game-changers for me.

By Miea Walker, #LwC2019

July 18, 2019

I am the Criminal Justice Manager of the Policy and Advocacy Division with Forward Justice which is based in my home state of North Carolina.